Armstrong tells Oprah he doped

[jubilee1919]

AP source: Armstrong tells Oprah he doped

By JIM VERTUNO and JIM LITKE (AP Sports Writer) | The Associated Press – 36 minutes ago



AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah Winfrey during an interview Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the interview is to be broadcast Thursday on Winfrey's network.

Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year following a voluminous U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that portrayed him as a ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win the prestigious race.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart labeled the doping regimen allegedly carried out by the U.S. Postal Service team that Armstrong once led, ''The most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.''

After a federal investigation of the cyclist was dropped without charges being brought last year, USADA stepped in with an investigation of its own. The agency deposed 11 former teammates and accused Armstrong of masterminding a complex and brazen drug program that included steroids, blood boosters and a range of other performance-enhancers.

A group of about 10 close friends and advisers to Armstrong left a downtown Austin hotel about three hours after they arrived Monday afternoon for the taping. Among them were Armstrong attorneys Tim Herman and Sean Breen, along with Bill Stapleton, Armstrong's longtime agent, manager and business partner. All declined comment entering and exiting the session.

Soon afterward, Winfrey tweeted: ''Just wrapped with (at)lancearmstrong More than 2 1/2 hours. He came READY!'' She was scheduled to appear on ''CBS This Morning'' on Tuesday to discuss the interview.

In a text to the AP on Saturday, Armstrong said: ''I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say.''

Armstrong stopped at the Livestrong Foundation, which he founded, on his way to the interview and said, ''I'm sorry'' to staff members, some of whom broke down in tears. A person with knowledge of that session said Armstrong choked up and several employees cried during the session.

The person also said Armstrong apologized for letting the staff down and putting Livestrong at risk but he did not make a direct confession to using banned drugs. He said he would try to restore the foundation's reputation, and urged the group to continue fighting for the charity's mission of helping cancer patients and their families.

Armstrong spoke to a room full of about 100 staff members for about 20 minutes, expressing regret for everything the controversy has put them through, the person said. He told them how much the foundation means to him and that he considers the people who work there to be like members of his family. None of the people in the room challenged Armstrong over his long denials of doping.

Winfrey and her crew had earlier said they would film Monday's session at Armstrong's home. As a result, local and international news crews were encamped near the cyclist's Spanish-style villa before dawn.

Armstrong still managed to slip away for a run despite the crowds outside his home. He returned by cutting through a neighbor's yard and hopping a fence.

---

Jim Litke reported from Chicago.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/armstrong-ready-oprah-comes-town-084142484--spt.html

Remember you read it here first.

 

[TuaGow]

this confession is too little, too late.

 

[wendychan]

Wonder how his neighbour likes having his fence cut....

 

[captainxerox]

wah! so it is true he doped all along i thought it was an european conspiracy against him as he was american threat in the tour de france.

 

[mollusk]

wah! so it is true he doped all along i thought it was an european conspiracy against him as he was american threat in the tour de france.

Sam must be dissappointed. His hero finally admitted that he used drug to win.

 

[Reddog]

Sam must be dissappointed. His hero finally admitted that he used drug to win.

Why are you taking the Leong's words so seriously? All along he knows the truth but kept his mouth shut to protect nuisance cyclists..........

 

[Leongsam]

Sam must be dissappointed. His hero finally admitted that he used drug to win.

I'm not disappointed that he doped. It was an open secret from day one. All top level cyclists are on some special brew. It's part and parcel of the sport. No cyclist can win the tour without chemical assistance.

I am disappointed that he confessed before all his opponents did. He should have just shut the fuck up and gone about his daily business. He doesn't owe anybody any explanations.

 

[Sinkie]

Oprah indeed has her own special way to get people to confess in public media.

 

[eatshitndie]

Oprah indeed has her own special way to get people to confess in public media.

she promises to pay them for the appearance and then promote their books, if any. expect a new book from armstrong soon.

 

[Alamaking]

LOL, Ah Leong's idol is a cheat!!!, LOL

 

[yellowarse]

LOL, Ah Leong's idol is a cheat!!!, LOL

Aiyah, boss knew all along that Armstrong cheated. He just thinks it's justified because everyone is cheating too (which is true).

 

[streetsmart73]

Sam must be dissappointed. His hero finally admitted that he used drug to win.

hi there


1.
2. you never know.
3. sammy uses it too to remain sane in sbf:p

 

[Leongsam]

There is a monument near the summit of Mont Ventoux in honor of Tommy Simpson.

When he collapsed and died during a race, it was because he was overdosed with drugs. He is still honored as a great cyclist and hundreds of thousands of people pay their respects every year.

There is no shame in doping in cycling. It's a necessary evil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson

 

[wendychan]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2013/jan/15/lance-armstrong-cost-benefit-analysis-confession


Lance Armstrong and the cost-benefit analysis of confession
Don't be fooled: the only thing choking up Lance is the lawsuits he has to settle. But he'll recoup through Oprah's redemption


It is now absolutely clear that Lance Armstrong will make some form of admission in Thursday's interview with Oprah Winfrey to the dope-cheating that the Usada report called "the great heist sport has ever seen". The public relations strategy of drip-by-drip leaking has been expertly executed.

First, there was the New York Times' scoop about Armstrong's contacts with Usada to reduce his lifetime ban (disclosure: my sceptical response has proven 100% wrong). Then, we learned about the Oprah appearance, and it became ever harder to imagine what they would have to talk about for 90 minutes if Armstrong continued his career-long practice of stonewalling doping accusations and destroying those who spoke the truth. On Monday, the day his Oprah show was being recorded, Armstrong met with staff at the cancer charity he founded but recently resigned from, and rendered a tearful, "choked up" apology to his former Livestrong colleagues. And finally, we learn via CBS that Armstrong may even be willing to testify himself against fellow cyclists on doping charges.

In short, this now looks like a carefully choreographed, slow-release PR plan – likely managed by Armstrong's long-time agent Bill Stapleton – to perform a 180-degree turn on all previously held positions: belligerent denial, self-righteous indignation and bullying belittling of accusers. Instead, we have Lance Armstrong the penitent sinner: the weepy, choked-up prodigal son, who is finally coming clean and seeks redemption. As is well-established, an audience with Oprah achieves that almost instantaneously: I can see her right now, reaching out and taking his hand as he shakes with emotion and talks about the pain of living the false life we all made him lead.

And from redemption to rehabilitation. Armstrong will leverage his confession to the maximum to get his lifetime ban reduced, to four years, perhaps less. He'll be back before we know it: a slightly grizzled and more wrinkled version of himself, glad-handing and fist-bumping on the triathlon circuit, getting back to fundraising for the Livestrong Foundation, making faux-humble speeches for fat fees on the after-dinner circuit, mopping up some handy corporate sponsorships, reconnecting with his Washington power-broker contacts, and – older and wiser – maybe even running for office himself, as was once mooted.

But this only stacks up because, for the second half of his life, Armstrong needs not to be permanently exiled from American public life: to be a viable celebrity brand is all his future. The costs are significant: he will almost certainly have to settle with SCA Promotions, but they will probably take a lot less than the $11m that headlines their suit. The Sunday Times wants to recover $500,000 in damages, plus another $1m in costs; but they'll take less.

But here's the thing: Armstrong's net worth is estimated to exceed $100m. These sums sting, but they don't really hurt him. And next to his post-rehabilitation earnings potential, they're chump change.

The only remaining obstacle is Floyd Landis' "whistleblower suit" under the False Claims Act. Also called a "qui tam" suit, most such civil legal actions fail – unless the US justice department chooses to join as a co-plaintiff, in which case the chances of success multiply dramatically. Landis' suit alleges that Lance Armstrong, in effect, defrauded US taxpayers who were, via the US Postal Service, the title sponsor of Armstrong's Tour de France-winning cycling teams from 1999-2003. That sponsorship was worth, reportedly, about $10m per year, making $50m in total.

If Armstrong was choking up and sobbing at his Livestrong Foundation encounter, it was far more likely because he had received word that senior officials in the justice department had recommended that the federal government join Landis' lawsuit, than for any show of true contrition. It must be a rattling prospect, even for Armstrong, that the US government would be coming after him, along with Landis, for potentially tens of millions of dollars – which, all the pre-publicity tells us to expect, Armstrong will confess he took under false pretences when he won by cheating.

As this latest turn in the Armstrong saga demonstrates, the disgraced cyclist is nothing if not well-advised: the combination of off-the-record briefing (Mark Fabiani, Bill Stapleton?) and official denial (attorney Tim Herman) was text-book stuff. No doubt, they have done their sums, too. So if Armstrong has already opened negotiations with Travis Tygart at Usada to get his ban reduced, then it's likely, as CBS reports, that there have been talks with the justice department about a deal to settle the qui tam suit.

The question of why the US justice department is piggybacking on Landis' suit now, when a US attorney in California inexplicably nixed a prosecution based on the federal grand jury investigation into precisely the same charges of fraud is now mainly of academic interest. In his book, The Secret Ride, Tyler Hamilton hinted strongly that Armstrong's political connections pulled strings. We do know that Armstrong lied repeatedly, even under oath, but thanks to the statute of limitations in one case (the suit against SCA in a 2005 lawsuit), and a wayward federal attorney in another, Armstrong has dodged a felony rap.

A criminal conviction, no; but civil damages he can afford. Armstrong will have done his math, and worked out where the percentage lies: it's with confession. The benefits outweigh the costs: he'll earn that rehabilitation, but he will come out ahead.

The irony of this day is that it also saw the retirement of the greatest female cyclist of her generation: former world and Olympic champion Nicole Cooke. In her statement, of great dignity but justified anger, she directly pointed to the damage Lance Armstrong's dope-cheating did to her career, and to the entire women's sport, by killing its sponsorship. Please read it in full; it is a historic document. But this line says everything we need to hear about Lance Armstrong's confession:

I can't help thinking that the cheats win on the way up and the way down.

 

[wendychan]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/jan/14/nicole-cooke-retirement-statement

Nicole Cooke's retirement statement in full (read the above)

I can't help thinking that the cheats win on the way up and the way down.

Pressure was put on me but I was determined, and fortunate. I had a very good team-mate who was in a similar predicament and she took the same stance I did. Team-mates that say "NO" are priceless. I would have been very naive to think that I would not encounter moments, like this. I am appalled that so many men bleat on about the fact that the pressures were too great. Too great for what? This is not doing 71 mph on the motorway when the legal limit is 70. This is stealing somebody else's livelihood. It is theft just as much as putting your hand in a purse or wallet and taking money is theft. Theft has gone on since the dawn of time but because somebody, somewhere else, does it, does not mean it is right for you to do it. There can be no excuse.



When Lance "cries" on Oprah later this week and she passes him a tissue, spare a thought for all of those genuine people who walked away with no reward – just shattered dreams. Each one of them is worth a thousand Lances.

 

[wendychan]

oh and jodie foster came out in case anyone is interested.... what a day..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentis...dia-manipulation-jodie-foster-lance-armstrong

 

[jubilee1919]

Australian state seeking damages from Armstrong

12:42 pm | Tuesday, January 15th, 2013

ADELAIDE, Australia—The government of South Australia state has pressed says it will seek damages or compensation from Lance Armstrong after his reported confession to Oprah Winfrey that he doped during his career.

In this Feb. 15, 2011 file photo, Lance Armstrong pauses during an interview in Austin, Texas. AP/Thao Nguyen, File

South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said Tuesday the state would seek the repayment of several million dollars in appearance fees paid to Armstrong for competing in the Tour Down Under cycle race in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Weatherill said reports Armstrong admitted doping during a recorded interview with Winfrey, due to be broadcast in the United States on Thursday, changed the government’s view on its entitlement to compensation.

He said Armstrong “has deceived the cycling community around the world” by repeatedly denying he used performance-enhancing drugs during a career in which he won the Tour de France seven times.

http://sports.inquirer.net/82053/australian-state-seeking-damages-from-armstrong

The lynching mob is coming out braying for his blood.:(

 

[looneytan]

WhoTF is Lance Armstrong?

 

[zeebjii]

I've never believed he was clean. How greg lemond the true american cycling suffered at his hands!

Next one is serena williams and the young olympic champion swimmer. Highly suspicious .

Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, A-Rod, Flo-Jo....Fuck all these american cheaters.

 

[yellowarse]

Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, A-Rod, Flo-Jo....Fuck all these american cheaters.

The Americans are always the first to point their finger at other nations for cheating, not realizing that 3 fingers are pointing back at themselves.

Cheats and hypocrites.